Continuous doily roll with index marks / perforations allowing dispensation of doilies in customized sizes

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to doilies that come on a continuous roll with index marks or perforations that allow the user to create doily presentations in individually customized dimensions, both as to length and width. The user may use a single doily roll to create multiple desired doily applications, each with unique optimal dimensions. Customized doily applications are not limited to the width of the source doily material, as multiple widths of doily material may be attached to create wide doily applications that still match perfectly. The user is also able to easily replace a small damaged doily section with a new section that perfectly matches the removed section as to dimension and pattern design, reducing waste.

RELATED LD APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/863,436, filed Aug. 8, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

This invention relates to improved doilies, in particular doilies that come on a continuous roll with index marks or perforations that allow the user to create doily presentations in individually customized dimensions, both as to length and width.

BACKGROUND

Doilies are widely used for functional and aesthetic purposes. Such doilies come in various materials, shapes, sizes, colors, and print designs, and are typically placed under food items, potted plants, or candles, under plates or platters, or as stand alone functional or decorative items. Additionally, many unique craft items may be created with doilies.

Conventionally available doilies have served to accentuate and enhance presentation of food products and other items, and as stand alone decorations. One shortcoming of conventional doilies is that they come in predetermined sizes that may not be of optimal dimension for the user's desired application. A user may have multiple desired applications, each with a unique optimal dimension. It would be advantageous for a user to have access to doilies that are easily customizable to a desired dimension, both in length and width.

Another shortcoming of conventional doilies is in waste do to damage. If part of a large conventional doily presentation is damaged due to tearing or staining, then the entire doily presentation must be discarded and replaced. It would therefore be desirable for a user to be able to easily replace a small damaged doily section with a new section that perfectly matches the removed section as to dimension and pattern design.

Doilies are also widely used in creating craft items. It would be advantageous for the craft maker to have access to doilies of easily customizable dimension, for use in widely varied craft products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is best described from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is emphasized that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings are not necessarily to scale, and may arbitrarily be expanded or reduced for clarity. Example embodiments are illustrated by way of example and are not limited to the figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary round doily pattern, incorporated into a continuous doily roll in a four panel width.

FIG. 2 is a top view of an exemplary alternating (round and rectangular) doily pattern, incorporated into a continuous doily roll in a four panel width.

FIG. 3 is a top view of an exemplary rectangular doily pattern, in a user determined length to produce the customized doily presentation in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a top view of an exemplary rectangular doily pattern, illustrating a user customized doily presentation with the excess doily material cut away.

FIG. 5 is a top view of two sections of round pattern doily material in user determined lengths to produce the customized doily presentations in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the combined sections of round pattern doily material in FIG. 5 used to create a user customized doily presentation in eight panel width, and to produce the user customized doily presentation in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a user customized doily presentation that presents a six panel width, with the excess doily material cut away. The doily presentation's width is greater than a single width of the source doily material illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a user customized doily presentation in alternating (round and rectangular) pattern showing stain and tear damage, and user customized replacement panels to replace the damaged panels.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a user customized doily presentation in alternating (round and rectangular) pattern showing damaged panels removed from the doily presentation, and user customized replacement panels to replace the damaged panels.

FIG. 10 is a top view of a user customized doily presentation in alternating (round and rectangular) pattern showing user customized replacement panels inserted into the doily presentation, and the removed damaged panels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Provided is a continuous doily roll with index marks or perforations to allow individually customized doily dimensions. The flexible, rollable materials that may be used in doily construction include, but are not limited to paper, fabric, lace, silk or sateen ribbon, thin plastics, metal sheet or foil. Any color value may be utilized for the rolled doily material. Rolled doily width may vary in range from 4 to 48 inches, with that overall width composed of a plurality of individual doily panels separated by index marks or perforations. Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which illustrates a continuous doily roll 100, composed of a length of doily material 102 wrapped around a cardboard tube 104. A single layer of doily material 102, when unwrapped and laid flat, shows that it is composed of a plurality of individual circular pattern doily panels 106. The individual circular doily panels 106 are separated by vertical 110 and horizontal 112 index marks incorporated into the doily pattern, or by perforations. The vertical index marks or perforations 110 allow the user to easily separate the panels and create a customized doily presentation width, while the horizontal index marks or perforations 112 allow the user to easily separate the panels and create a customized doily presentation length.

In other exemplary embodiments, circular pattern doily panel 106 may be configured in the pattern of a rectangle 108, square, oval, heart, diamond, or other suitable shape. Patterns may be solid or cut out, and may contain various textures and prints. Patterns may incorporate a specific theme, including but not limited to holidays, celebratory events, seasons of the year, plants, animals, famous artwork, and celestial objects.

In other exemplary embodiments, the index marks or perforations used to separate individual panels from the doily material need not be strictly vertical or horizontal in orientation, but may be incorporated into the pattern along the four edges of the individual doily panels.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which illustrates a continuous doily roll 100, composed of a length of doily material 102 wrapped around a cardboard tube 104. A single layer of doily material 102, when unwrapped and laid flat, shows that it is composed of a plurality of individual alternating circular pattern doily panels 106 and rectangular pattern doily panels 108. The individual alternating circular 106 and rectangular 108 doily panels are separated by vertical 110 and horizontal 112 index marks incorporated into the doily pattern, or by perforations. The vertical index marks or perforations 110 allow the user to easily separate the panels and create a customized doily presentation width, while the horizontal index marks or perforations 112 allow the user to easily separate the panels and create a customized doily presentation length.

In other exemplary embodiments, circular pattern doily panel 106 and rectangular pattern doily panel 108 may be configured in other suitable patterns. The number of alternating patterns is not limited to the two illustrated, as a multitude of patterns may be incorporated on a single length of doily material 102. Similarly, the sequencing for the alternating patterns need not be limited to the method illustrated, as a multitude of alternating sequences may be incorporated on a single length of doily material 102.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which illustrates a user customized section of source doily material 102, composed of rectangular pattern doily panels 108. This source doily material 102 will be used to create the customized doily presentation illustrated in FIG. 4.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which illustrates a user customized doily presentation 114 that is equal in width to the source doily material 102 in FIG. 3. The user has separated along the vertical 110 and horizontal 112 index marks or perforations to remove the excess doily material 116, which can be saved and reused for other customized doily presentations.

In other exemplary embodiments, the user customized doily presentation using a single width of source doily material 102 may be of any length, limited only be the amount of source doily material 102 available on the roll, and may utilize the entire width of one section of source doily material 102, or may utilize only a portion of the available width of one section of the doily source material 102, with the excess doily material removed and saved for other customized doily presentations.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5, which illustrates two sections of user customized source doily material 102 in a round doily pattern 106. These sections of source doily material 102 will be used to create the user customized doily presentations illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which illustrates the two lengths of user customized source doily material 102 from FIG. 5 combined to produce a single user customized doily presentation 118 eight panels in width. User customized doily presentation 118 may be used in its current state, or further customized to create the user customized doily presentation in FIG. 7.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7, which illustrates the user customized doily presentation 118 from FIG. 6 further customized to create user customized doily presentation 120 six panels in width. The user has separated along the vertical 110 and horizontal 112 index marks or perforations to remove the excess doily material 122, which can be saved and reused for other customized doily presentations. As in FIG. 6, this illustration shows that the width of a user customized doily presentation is not constrained by the width of a single section of source doily material.

In other exemplary embodiments, the user customized doily presentation may be of any length, limited only be the amount of source doily material 102 available on the roll, and may include multiple sections of source doily material 102 combined to create widths that would cover a large surface area in a continuous doily pattern.

Reference is now made to FIG. 8, which illustrates a user customized doily presentation 136 in alternating (round and rectangular) pattern showing a stain damaged panel 124 and tearing damaged panels 126. Also illustrated are user customized replacement panel 130, and user customized replacement panels 128, that will be used to replace the stain damaged panel 124 and tearing damaged panels 126, respectively.

Reference is now made to FIG. 9, which illustrates the initial steps to repair user customized doily presentation 136. The user has separated along the vertical 110 and horizontal 112 index marks or perforations to remove stain damaged panel 124 and tearing damaged panels 126 from the user customized doily presentation 136, leaving empty space 132 and empty spaces 134 in the user customized doily presentation 136.

Reference is now made to FIG. 10, which illustrates the final steps to repair user customized doily presentation 136 from FIG. 8. The user has installed user customized replacement panel 130 into empty space 132, and installed user customized replacement panels 128 into empty spaces 134. The replacement panel 130 and replacement panels 128 perfectly match the pattern of stain damaged panel 124 and tearing damaged panels 126, respectively, resulting in a repaired user customized doily presentation 138 that is visually identical to the original user customized doily presentation 136 from FIG. 8. Stain damaged panel 126 and tearing damaged panels 126 can be discarded by the user.

In another exemplary embodiment, one where the source doily material has the index marks or perforations not vertical or horizontal, but incorporated into the pattern along the four edges of the individual doily panels, replacement of individual panels to repair a damaged doily presentation would follow the same simple steps as shown in FIG. 8-10.

The potential for waste reduction, with associated cost savings to the user, is apparent in the example embodiments illustrated in FIG. 8-10. A total of three small damaged panels were replaced to restore the user customized doily presentation 136 in FIG. 8 to the visually identical state shown at 138 in FIG. 10. A conventionally available doily presentation of equivalent size would have to be replaced in its entirety to achieve the same visual results. Waste reduction and cost savings are made all the more relevant to the user when using larger user customized presentations. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A continuous length of doily material comprised of a plurality of individual doily panels, wherein said individual doily panels are separable from said doily material by cutting along index marks, enabling the user to transform the original shape of said doily material into a customized doily presentation.
 2. The continuous doily material as in claim 1, wherein the cutting index marks are vertical and horizontal in orientation.
 3. The continuous doily material as in claim 1, wherein the cutting index marks are incorporated into the pattern along the four edges of each individual doily panel.
 4. The continuous length of doily material as in claim 1, wherein said doily material is disposed on a roll.
 5. A continuous length of doily material comprised of a plurality of individual doily panels, wherein said individual doily panels are separable from said doily material by cutting along perforations, enabling the user to transform the original shape of said doily material into a customized doily presentation.
 6. The continuous doily material as in claim 5, wherein the cutting perforations are vertical and horizontal in orientation.
 7. The continuous doily material as in claim 5, wherein the cutting perforations are incorporated into the pattern along the four edges of each individual doily panel.
 8. The continuous length of doily material as in claim 5, wherein said doily material is disposed on a roll. 